V8 Supercars: Bathurst 12 Hour Clash is a PR Own Goal

Imagine a scenario that goes something like thus: NASCAR gets cold feet about the Daytona 24 Hours – ignore the fact that US sportscar racing is now mostly owned by NASCAR in some way anyway and just roll with me on this – and worries about the race overtaking the Daytona 500 in popularity.  Anyway, their solution is to wait four months until after the 2015 Daytona 24 Hours has been scheduled, then schedule Preseason Thunder at, say, Charlotte Motor Speedway, on exactly the same weekend, and then just to make sure we all get the hint, they demand compulsory attendance at this test day for ALL Sprint Cup drivers.

You think I’m making this all up, right?

Well substitute NASCAR for V8 Supercars, and the Daytona 24 Hours for the Bathurst 12 Hour, and this is exactly what is going on in Australia right now.

First, let’s address the main issue here: why the hell would you NOT want your top drivers to showcase your series in other races? In the 1960s and 1970s, race drivers were jack-of-all-trades and masters of all. On any given Sunday you could see Grand Prix drivers running NASCAR, British Touring Cars, Trans-Am, sportscar racing, hell even motorcycle racing if you were Mike Hailwood. And fans loved this inter-breeding between series. These days, such crossover is limited a bit more, but look at the novelty when sportscar ace Andre Lotterer stepped into F1. Or F1 star Mark Webber moving across to WEC – soon to be joined perhaps by a few more of his former F1 colleagues. It’s great for fans and great for their respective series. Let’s not forget, less than two years ago, the Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercars event had a rule in place which made it mandatory to have a co-driver from an international motorsport series, which saw the finest from Indycar, WTCC, ALMS and more all came to play on the sunny beaches.

So if not long ago they wanted the world to come play in their garden, why are V8 Supercars now banning their own drivers from playing with their neighbours?

One suspects that the real focus behind this test day is the launch of a new, megabucks TV package. This is a TV deal that has gone down like a cup of cold sick with fans, as it throws 60% of the season behind a pay-TV wall. So yes, you did read that right. V8 Supercars would rather its drivers were sitting in a banqueting hall whilst TV executives drone on about this being a ‘great new dawn’ for V8 Supercars, instead of doing what they do best – you know, RACING – and publicising the V8SC brand further afield. Well done James Warburton, you’ve managed to alienate the fans, drivers AND teams in one fell swoop. Nissan’s global motorsport manager Darren Cox recently went on the offensive in an interview with Radio Le Mans:

"“It’s another case of the politics getting in the way of sport. I think there’s only one loser and that will be the sport unfortunately. If V8s think they’re the only game in town, then things are changing down there and I think the Bathurst 12 Hour will only grow and grow. I think V8s taking them on is the wrong thing to do. I think there’s room enough for both championships. This one will rumble on I think.”"

This whole sorry situation is infuriating – until you realise that all V8SC have done is score perhaps the biggest PR own goal in history. Because by throwing a strop and not letting anyone else play with their ball, the V8SC has almost certainly guaranteed that the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour will the biggest edition of that race in history.

Then it becomes hilarious.

This must have been the main logic behind V8SC stopping its drivers entering – trying to quash any rivals to its beloved Bathurst 1000. Quite why you’d want to do that when the 1000 and 12 Hour are, like the Daytona 500 and 24 Hours, incredibly different races which can easily co-exist, is baffling beyond belief. But far from quelling the dissenting upstart, Warburton and co have only gifted the 12 Hour publicity and exposure beyond its wildest dreams. No wonder the 12 Hour organisers have made no attempt to publicly react to this news – they are letting the constant slew of press releases announcing yet more entries for next year’s edition speak for themselves.

And with fans already angry about the pay-TV debacle and the potential loss of V8 engines from V8 Supercars, this latest gaffe has left such a bad taste in the mouth that for many longtime fans, enough is enough. Why should they support a series that seemingly has nothing but contempt for its own fans and participants when they can go and watch a race at Bathurst which is twice as long as the 1000, has an entry list which dwarfs the V8 Supercar grid in the top class alone, and features an astounding variety of cars and drivers, from GT3 supercar beasts through to Fiat Abarths? Whilst all the while still featuring the same great racing they get in V8s? Okay, so maybe the 2014 1000 overshadowed the 2014 12 Hour in terms of raw thrills, but the 12 Hour featured great racing throughout and concluded with a fantastic showdown between Craig Lowndes (can’t think what series he races in…) and young German superstar Maxi Gotz. Oh, and did I mention the Bathurst 12 Hour is still on free-to-air TV?

So well done James Warburton and co, you’re doing a really great job at making sure there will only be one premier race at Bathurst in years to come.

Except, if things keep going as they are…it won’t be the 1000.